Andreas Bovensiepen says purist roadsters have fascinated him ever since he was part of the BMW Z8 development team in Munich in the late 1990s, and the Spider is where that fascination lands. It’s a straight-six roadster limited to 99 hand-built cars, arriving at a time when almost every other manufacturer has walked away from the category.

More Power, Not More Boost

Under the hood, the twin-scroll turbocharged B58 3.0-liter straight six now produces 320 kW (435 hp) and 580 Nm. None of it comes from turning up boost pressure. Bovensiepen opened up the intake duct, added a second ram-air channel, enlarged the intake silencer, and reworked the sport exhaust for better flow and reduced back pressure. Power reaches the road through a ZF eight-speed automatic that swaps gears in roughly a tenth of a second in Sport mode, with paddle shifters for manual control or a smoother automatic setting for relaxed driving.

The result is a 4.2-second sprint to 100 km/h from a car that weighs 1,585 kg, or 3.6 kg for every horsepower on tap. Bovensiepen makes a point of putting that power-to-weight number ahead of the peak output itself, arguing that how the six-cylinder delivers its power matters more than the headline figure.

Keeping that output usable over a full day of driving falls to a 1,000-watt electric fan built into the main cooling package, which Bovensiepen says keeps the powertrain thermally stable rather than letting performance fall off as the engine heats up. Official WLTP figures put combined fuel consumption at 8.8 l/100 km and CO2 emissions at 199 g/km, landing the Spider in Germany’s G emissions class.

Chassis Changes to Back Up the Tires

Bovensiepen retuned the dampers so the tires’ grip doesn’t go to waste, raising the compression stage at low damper speeds, and fitted longer auxiliary springs at the rear axle for a tighter link between body and chassis. Standard top speed is 260 km/h.

Buyers who want more can add the Performance Package, which pushes the top speed to 295 km/h. The gain comes from a Bovensiepen-specific rear differential cover, milled from aluminum with larger cooling fins, which keeps the rear differential from overheating under sustained high loads. The package also adds an underbody reinforcement with a V-brace, which stiffens the structure and sharpens chassis response.

An optional high-performance brake package brings 4-piston fixed calipers up front, clamping perforated discs that measure 395 mm at the front axle and 345 mm at the rear, paired with dedicated pads for resistance to fade.

A Low Seat and a Cabin Built by the In-House Saddlery

Bovensiepen puts the driver in a low seating position designed to make you feel part of the car rather than just sitting in it, with steering the company describes as instant and precise in translating driver inputs. The standard interior pairs Vernasca leather with Alcantara seat panels in Bovensiepen’s own design, and the steering wheel is trimmed in Lavalina leather, a barrel-dyed, full-grain cowhide the company sources from its in-house saddlery. A heated steering wheel, Comfort Access, and a Harman Kardon surround sound system all come standard alongside the rest of the equipment list below.

Customers chasing more can step up to a full Lavalina leather interior, extend leather onto the dashboard, or wrap the A-pillars, wind deflector, and roll bar cover in Alcantara. The saddlery will also take on bespoke requests, from an Alcantara-lined footwell or boot to embroidered motifs built to a customer’s own specification. Every one of the 99 cars carries a numbered production plaque.

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The Cheapest Bovensiepen Yet

In Germany, the Spider’s recommended retail price is €115,500 ex-factory Buchloe, including 19 percent German sales tax, which works out to about €97,059 before tax. That undercuts the Zagato, the brand’s first model, which debuted at the Fuori Concorso event on Lake Como in May 2025. Orders are open now, with first deliveries expected at the end of the first quarter of 2027.

What’s Included, and What Pushes the Price Close to €130,000

The €115,500 starting price isn’t stripped-down. Standard equipment on the Spider includes:

  • Alcantara seats with Bovensiepen-specific enhancements
  • A Bovensiepen exhaust system with four tailpipes
  • The Bovensiepen exterior design package
  • Floor mats with leather piping
  • 20-inch Bovensiepen forged wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tires
  • A DAB tuner
  • Door sills with Bovensiepen lettering

All five launch colors, including the four no-cost metallic finishes and the wheel finishes in Anthracite, Oro Tecnico, or Aluminium Satin diamond cut, come at no charge, and buyers can also special-order any color they want through the Bovensiepen manufactory. The options sheet gets more expensive from there.

Brake calipers move from a no-cost blue to €824 for silver and €1,496 for anthracite, with custom colors available on request. The standard Bovensiepen-design Vernasca leather and Alcantara combination can be swapped for a Lavalina full-leather interior starting at €9,916, offered in a bi-color finish across sixteen shades with either tone-in-tone or contrast stitching at no extra cost.

Personalization runs from a €378 embossed Bovensiepen logo on the headrests up to an €882 bespoke embossing package. Add the priciest options together (Lavalina leather, anthracite calipers, and the bespoke embossing package) and a fully loaded Spider climbs to nearly €130,000, before anyone’s even touched the order sheet for a custom brake caliper color.

Frank Stephenson’s Design

Frank Stephenson, who also shaped the 800 hp 05 GT, designed the Spider’s exterior parts: a gloss-black front splitter with twin tips, wheel arch vents, side skirts, a rear diffuser, and an integrated spoiler that extends the tail. The proportions follow the traditional front-engine sports car formula, a long hood, a cabin pushed rearward, and short overhangs at both ends.

It measures 4,334 mm long, 1,864 mm wide, and 1,304 mm tall, weighs 1,585 kg (DIN kerb weight) or 1,660 kg unladen (EC), and carries a 281-liter boot. The car rides on 20-inch forged wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tires, 255/35 up front and 295/30 out back. Buyers don’t get to pick their allocation freely, either.

Bovensiepen has already split the 99-car run by color: 40 in Sapphire Black, 25 in Sanremo Green, 20 in Skyscraper Grey, 9 in Thundernight, and 5 in Frozen Grey II, with Sapphire Black and Sanremo Green cars also available with a Cognac-toned Vernasca and Alcantara interior instead of the standard black.

First published by https://www.bmwblog.com